Equity matters at CQUni

Last week I popped in on a workshop for the 21 CQUniversity projects being funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Higher Education Participation Program (HEPP). This funding is targeted at initiatives we use to better support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to be what they want to be. It was a great opportunity for me to reflect on what an inclusive university CQU is.

Being an inclusive university is something that everyone at CQUniversity is proud of. Ours is a university that defines itself by those we include rather than those we exclude. We are a university that is reflective of the society around us and that’s exactly why it’s important for us provide opportunities to those who might have otherwise thought a university education was unattainable.

It’s great that some universities pride themselves on prestige and exclusivity – and that’s great for them, but we will never be one of those universities. I don’t think that your geographical location, family background, study mode, ATAR or whether or not you have a disability should determine your ability to achieve.

The HEPP projects being rolled out at CQUniversity are evidence of this and each and every one of them has a specific aim of raising university aspirations among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.  The projects will help to ensure these students are supported throughout their studies and that they have the same opportunities for employment as anyone else upon graduation. I think that the project coordinators of these programs have some of the most exciting jobs at the University because they get to see that what they are doing is genuinely making a difference to the lives of our students.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the results of these 21 HEPP projects over the next few years and bearing witness to CQUniversity reinforcing its status as Australia’s (if not the World’s) most inclusive and engaged university! 

Me having a chat to staff at the HEPP workshop

Me and with the group of HEPP project coordinators 

Not even a cyclone can dampen CQUni spirits

This time last week the Rockhampton/Yeppoon region was hit by a very severe weather event. Tropical Cyclone Marcia caused widespread damage to property and has left most of the region without power for a week – and counting!

My thoughts go out to the many people who suffered major property damage and loss, particularly those who also lost treasured possessions and memories. Sadly some of those who have suffered so severely are among our staff and students.

I feel extremely fortunate that the damage caused at the University was limited to a large number of fallen trees and some water damage to buildings. Both of which are things that can be easily fixed. 

The thing that has had the most impact on us this week would be the lack of power to our campus sites at Rockhampton North and Canning Street. This obviously prevented most staff and all students from accessing the campuses, but in the grand scheme of things we don’t have a great deal to complain about.

However the fact that we have been without power for a week now has caused some major disruptions to our day-to-day operations. During the week we were able to get power on to some small buildings at both campuses thanks to generators and because of this we’ve been able to continue delivering essential services to staff and students. And let me tell you, for an organisation as decentralised as CQUni, business continuity is vital! Especially when VET courses are in full swing and you’re a week out from new student orientation and welcoming thousands of new student’s right across the country.

We were absolutely tested to the limit this past week but I am pleased and proud to say that the hard work and leadership shown by staff has meant we have risen to this challenge. What’s more the lessons learnt in the past week will also make us stronger and more resilient in the future.

I really believe that disasters of any nature bring out the best in people and I was witness to this in the past week. From the facilities staff who worked tirelessly over the past week repairing damage to the campuses (even though many of them had damage at home), to the volunteers who turned out in force to help us clean up trees and debris, the amazing staff at the student residence who housed and fed search and rescue personnel, Gladstone Port Corporation for providing fuel for generators, ITD and Student Contact Centre staff who kept the wheels turning, and then of course staff from across the entire campus network who not only sent well wishes but also stepped in and got things done that we couldn't do here. I sincerely thank you all!

As well as the best coming out in people, we've also heard some great stories this week that have managed to put a smile on many faces, my favourite in particular was the story of our student’s pallet house that survived the Cyclone with not a hint of damage. It’s a great story because Angus (who lives in the house) was in Melbourne with two of his fellow students when the Cyclone hit. They were there because last year they won a major national award for not just the design of the house, but for a business concept that would see them delivering these houses to disaster affected areas. The concept houses not only provide shelter to individuals and families but the construction of the homes will provide employment.

It’s such a simple yet great idea and I think the cartoon below that appeared in The Morning Bulletin earlier this week really sums it up. I also think it is very representative of how big ideas and team work got CQUni through this disaster and how it takes a lot more than a Category 5 cyclone to dampen our spirits.

Finally, just as I’m typing this I’m pleased to say that power has just come back on at the Rocky North campus. What a great feeling!

Creating opportunities on and off the sporting field

CQUniversity is always looking for new ways to engage with our communities and to showcase what a truly great university we are. In recent years we have found that engaging with local/regional sporting events and teams has been a very successful way to get more involved with our communities. 

Sport and universities have always gone hand-in-hand. Providing sporting facilities and opportunities for students and staff to participate helps to create life on campus, and facilitates the forging of life-long friendships and networks.

Last week we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CQ Rugby to establish an Academy that aims to prevent the drain of promising young sporting and academic talent to GPS schools and sandstone Universities in the capital cities. The perceived benefits of what’s on offer in the big cities has always been available in spades in our regions, and this Academy is proof.

Players selected for induction into the new Academy will have access to CQUniversity sporting facilities and sports performance labs, where they will be guided by our top sports science researchers.

Along with this they will also be encouraged to further their education by studying at CQUniversity where they will be able to choose from a range of quality vocational and tertiary programs, and can make the most of our immersive work integrated learning opportunities.

Already 60 talented teens from across the CQ Rugby footprint (which coincidentally looks very similar to CQUniversity’s footprint, with branches in the Central Highlands, Western Queensland, Wide Bay and Capricornia) have attended residential training camps in Rockhampton.

The potential of the MOU is huge, not just for CQUni and CQ Rugby but for the many regional communities within Central Queensland. The initiative will help young people to remain in their local communities by giving players the same great opportunities that can be afforded to them in the City. Through this they will be able to gain an academic experience that complements their sporting aspirations and long term career prospects.

It’s great to have CQ Rugby on board, going forward I can see this partnership being just as successful as our CQUniversity Cairns Taipans Basketball Academy. Our engagement with these sports is just another one of the reasons why CQUniversity is emerging as one of Australia’s great Universities.

Churchill

It is 50 years to the day that Sir Winston Churchill died.

 I am very proud to have a picture of him looking out over my office in Rockhampton. Even prouder that the picture includes a signature in his own hand writing. I know that the picture sometimes gets a few strange looks from some politicians who visit the office - even stranger looks when they see the other Churchill memorabilia around the office. If they saw my collection of Churchill stamps I think they would run for the hills! I don't really care - I simply find Churchill an inspiration.

Why am I so inspired by this person? He was defiantly a flawed character (but are all of us). God knows he made lots of mistakes some of them having disastrous consequences for the country I love - Australia. He also made mistakes that had bad consequences for my beloved England. 

But here was a person who NEVER gave up what ever the odds were against him. Here was a person who was willing to take the tough decision. Here was a person who did not care about political party or doing what was politically correct. Here was a person who inspired the world in its darkest hour. Here was a man who had a deep love of his country and family. Here is a person who continues to inspire me 50 years after his death. 

I often look up at the picture when I have difficult decisions to make and say - what would you have done Winnie? I don't always take his advice which comes from the MANY books I have about his life - but I always try and live by his golden rule - Never, never, never give up.

RIP Sir Winston.

Have a great Australia Day weekend.

All the best

Scott

Is it just me or has 2014 been the biggest, busiest, and most remarkable year we’ve had yet? I don’t even know where to begin with a yearly wrap-up!

Surely the 1 July merger with CQ TAFE has been the most profound event of the year. This was a day that not only transformed CQUniversity forever, but the way post-schooling education and training is conducted in Central Queensland. It was also the day we welcomed almost 19,000 TAFE students and 400 incredibly dedicated VET colleagues into the organisation, at the same time becoming the largest regionally-based university in Australia. Let that sink in – we are now the biggest regional uni.

And if the merger itself wasn’t a big enough task, around 20 new VET programs were added to our range of offerings in the post-merger period. The effort that went into this was outstanding. We also saw Study Centres open in Townsville, Charters Towers, Perth and Karratha this year, enabling more students to access an innovative model of supportive Distance Education.

Our stock just continued to rise across all areas of the university, as did our reputation in the sector. We seem to be one of the universities that everyone is watching at the moment, and its easy to understand why. Our numbers are climbing, our course options are expanding, our student satisfaction ratings are heading north, and our graduation ceremonies seem to be getting bigger and bigger. And lets not overlook the work Facilities Management team have been doing on major new buildings & projects all over our footprint.

Our teaching staff have continued to raise the bar of excellence this year. Prof Stephen Colbran, who won this year’s Australian Award for Teaching Excellence in Law, is a great example of the talent we have, but I could just as easily list many others. Likewise in research we’ve seen some great results being produced, and we exceeded our target for total research grants this year. Prof John Rolfe’s involvement in the $31M Tropical Water Quality Hub and Dr Corneel Vandelanotte’s NHMRC funding have been exciting to see, and the outputs of our Early Career Researchers Group this year makes our research future look very exciting indeed. Our international students continue to be a great source of pride, and 2014 was the year we began to see the green shoots of recovery following the downturn in the international market.

Our engagement with Indigenous communities and groups under the leadership of Prof Bronwyn Fredericks has been phenomenal. Today we have more than 1,100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at CQUniversity, and this year we saw more Indigenous students cross the graduation stage than any other year - something we should all be proud of. Speaking of graduates, our alumni continue to take the world by storm, and its hard to go past the story of former student Carolyn Hardy who won this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award. And how fantastic was it to see our Engineering students win the national finals of The Big Idea competition with their concept of reusing industrial pallets for emergency housing following natural disasters.

There are so many things that have made 2014 great (and I know I’ve overlooked many), but my favourite moment of the year? Probably watching Dr Louise Byrne steal the show on ABC’s Q&A program as a panellist.

I’d like to thank everybody for their contribution and support this year - I am very proud of what has been achieved. I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas, and a wonderful New Year.

See you all in 2015!

Scott  

Sydney Events

The events that occurred yesterday and overnight in Sydney’s CBD were simply inconceivable. Like most people this morning I stood in front of the TV utterly dumbfounded that such sadness could ever be visited upon our country.  

The time for questioning “why” will come, but for today our immediate thoughts should be with the victims and their families.  

While it is nearly impossible to make sense out of this tragedy, can I just say how proud I am of the CQUniversity community of staff and students today. I have been watching our University rally around our Sydney-based staff and students with incredible support and comfort. But in particular I am proud of the way the University has rallied around our Muslim staff and students during this time. I cannot imagine what CQUniversity would be like without the rich and vibrant contribution made by this extraordinary group of individuals, and if ever there was a time to let them know this, it is now.  

There is always the risk that events like these could bring out the worst in our communities, opening the doors to hatred and intolerance. But I am overwhelmed by the way CQUniversity – indeed by most of Australia – has rejected this reaction, reaching instead to compassion and understanding. The most beautiful thing I saw this morning was the number of my colleagues tweeting the #Illridewithyou hashtag on Twitter – a simple message supporting Australian Muslims feeling apprehensive about riding on public transport today for fear of reprisal. This reminded me that despite the horrors of overnight, we remain the lucky country.   

I wish all readers of this blog a safe and happy Christmas break with your loved ones.

Scott

CQUni champions of science

I was delighted back in early September when our fantastic agriculture Professor Dave Swain was awarded with a Queensland Government Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Science Champion Award for his ground breaking work in precision livestock management and his collaboration with industry.

Now in the last week two more CQUni researchers were recognised with the same award and once again it was for agriculture related research. Professor Phil Brown and Dr Talitha Best who are both located at the Bundaberg campus are conducting research that looks into the relationship between horticultural production systems and consumer psychology. They are working directly with local agribusiness stakeholders to take a fresh look at the horticultural value chain – from soil to supermarket – to improve yields and understand barriers industry innovation, and grower and consumer motivations. Once again a great example of CQUniversity and our researchers working directly with communities and industry to develop research that is relevant to local issues and needs.

CQUniversity is a leader in agricultural research – and now a leader in these awards with three science champions out of the nine awarded going to CQUni (the most for a Queensland university). Agricultural research it is so important to the central Queensland region and I am extremely proud to be working with true innovators in this area. Congratulations Dave, Phil and Talitha! This recognition is well deserved.

Professor Dave Swain accepts his award from QLD MP Ian Walker

Professor Phil Brown and Dr Talitha Best accept their awards from Minister Walker this week